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Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,071
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
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Flange cracking at spoke holes is as old as tension spoked wheels are. Or at least for the last 60/70 years with Al being used for hub shells. Al has an amount of notch sensitivity. A crease, scratch or gouge acts as a stress riser and all the stress is focused in this weaker point. This is why when recycling an used hub it's best to match the spoke/hub shell orientation that the original wheel used. Once a crack starts it tends to travel fast in Al. Very high spoke tensions are a contributor as can be the lacing pattern (when a radial pattern is used, not what we have here though).
I agree that the age is young for this to happen. Even with the extreme use one would expect the hub shell to not crack (as mentioned- assuming reasonable spoke tensions). I would hope that VO would replace the hub, Warranty or customer consideration... Two aspects remaining are if only the hub is replaced who pays for the wheel rebuild and that you've got to get back on the road.
I would replace the wheel now and finish off the tour. Have the shop who sells you/installs the wheel ship the old one back to you and then after you get back home follow up on any replacement offers. Andy
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AndrewRStewart